Urges full restoration of all eliminated direct support professionals (DSP) hours in the final FY26 State budget to protect the services individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) depend on.
Amends the Illinois Works Jobs Program Act. Provides that the term "community-based organization" includes a high-school based program. Provides that funding from the Illinois Works Fund shall be categorized based on Illinois Department of Transportation regions. Adds a member to the Illinois Works Review panel who shall be a representative of a community-based organization that addresses high school-based workforce programs. Makes other changes.
Amends the Volunteer Emergency Worker Job Protection Act. Provides that employment protections for volunteer emergency workers apply to volunteer emergency workers participating in required training, including a prohibition on termination and penalizing (rather than only termination). Provides that the employer may not require the employee to take vacation time or other compensatory time in order to respond to an emergency or participate in training. Provides that the Act does not apply to any employer that is a municipality with a population of 15,000 or more (currently 7,500 or more). Makes conforming changes.
Amends the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that, subject to availability of funds, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may establish the Illinois Apprenticeship Voucher Program for the purpose of providing funds to apprentices to pay for their tools and equipment upon completion of their registered apprenticeship program. Provides that Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall disburse the sum of $300 to each recipient in the form of a voucher for the purpose of paying for tools and equipment required in their intended line of work. Creates the Illinois Apprenticeship-to-Career Starter Kit Fund. Provides that moneys in the Fund shall be used by the Department for the purposes of the voucher program. Amends the State Finance Act to make conforming changes.
Amends the Workers' Compensation Act. Provides that the provisions of the Act shall apply automatically and without election to all employers and all their employees, including, but not limited to, sole proprietors and general contractors and their subcontractors (currently, all employers and all their employees), engaged in any department enterprises or businesses which are declared to be extra hazardous. Removes a provision that the Act shall not be construed to apply to any sole proprietor or partner or member of a limited liability company who elects not to provide and pay compensation for accidental injuries sustained by himself, arising out of and in the course of the employment according to the provisions of the Act. Provides that the definition of "corporate officer" does not include a sole proprietor.
Urges the State to increase reimbursement rates, state grants and contracts, and the minimum overhead allowance to meet the rising costs of providing essential human services in Illinois and support the workers who deliver those services.
Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Creates a deduction for the full amount of union dues paid by the taxpayer during the taxable year if the taxpayer was not allowed a federal deduction under the Internal Revenue Code. Provides that, if any amount of union dues representing federal miscellaneous itemized deductions was allowed as a federal deduction, then the amount allowed as an Illinois deduction shall be a specified percentage of the union dues disallowed under the Internal Revenue Code. Provides that the deduction is exempt from the Act's automatic sunset provision. Effective immediately.
Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act and the Prevailing Wage Act. Provides that certain transferable tax credits are considered public works within the meaning of the Prevailing Wage Act. Effective immediately.
Amends the Human Rights Act. Adds to the definition of "harassment" in the Employment Article to include "reproductive health decisions" that is covered under the Act. Provides that an employer is responsible for harassment and sexual harassment of the employer's employees by the employer's nonmanagerial and nonsupervisory employees, nonemployees, and third parties only if the employer becomes aware of the conduct and fails to take reasonable corrective measures. Provides that a "third party" includes, but is not limited to, customers, clients, vendors, or other visitors.
Amends the Public Higher Education Act. Provides that in fixing the salaries of employees, the governing board of each public institution of higher education shall pay employees an hourly rate of not less than: (1) $22 for the 2025-2026 academic year; (2) $23 for the 2026-2027 academic year; and (3) $24 for the 2027-2028 academic year. Provides that the minimum hourly rate for each academic year thereafter shall equal the minimum hourly rate for the previous academic year increased by a percentage equal to the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for all items published by the United States Department of Labor for the previous academic year. Effective immediately.
